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Bankruptcy Discharge

The court order that ends personal liability for the debts covered by a bankruptcy case - what it does, what it does not do to liens and co-signers, when it is entered, and how it can be denied or later revoked.

Informational only - this is not legal advice. These definitions explain general legal vocabulary in plain English. They are not advice about your situation, reading them creates no attorney-client relationship, and the law differs from state to state and changes over time. For advice you can rely on, speak to a lawyer licensed in your state.

Looking for a lawyer rather than a definition? Skip to the state-by-state list of law firms for this.

What it means

The discharge is the point of a consumer bankruptcy. It is an order of the bankruptcy court releasing the debtor from personal liability for every debt it covers and permanently forbidding any creditor from trying to collect that debt as a personal obligation - by letter, call, lawsuit, garnishment or otherwise. A creditor that does so anyway is in contempt of the order and can be made to pay damages and fees. The discharge replaces the automatic stay, which ends when the case does, with a protection that does not expire.

The discharge acts on the person, not on property. A lien that secured a debt before the case - a mortgage, a car loan, a properly perfected judgment lien - survives the discharge and the creditor may still foreclose or repossess if the debt is not paid; what the creditor loses is the right to pursue the debtor for any shortfall. Nor does the discharge reach anyone else: a co-signer, guarantor or spouse who did not file remains fully liable, which is why a Chapter 13 co-debtor stay exists to protect them during the case and why a person often continues paying a co-signed loan after discharge. Debts not listed in the schedules, and the categories the Code makes non-dischargeable, are not covered.

In Chapter 7 the discharge is typically entered a few months after filing, once the deadline for objections has passed; in Chapter 13 it comes at the end of the plan, after every payment has been made and a certificate about domestic-support obligations has been filed. Both require the debtor to complete a personal financial management course after filing. A discharge can be denied altogether for concealing assets, lying on the schedules, destroying records or refusing to obey a court order, and can be revoked after the fact for fraud discovered within a period fixed by statute. A person who has received a discharge in a prior case must wait an interval, also fixed by statute and different for each combination of chapters, before another discharge is available.

Where this comes from

The effect of a discharge is 11 U.S.C. § 524(a), with the injunction at § 524(a)(2); Taggart v. Lorenzen, 587 U.S. 554 (2019), sets the contempt standard for violating it. Survival of liens is the rule of Long v. Bullard, 117 U.S. 617 (1886), and Dewsnup v. Timm, 502 U.S. 410 (1992). The Chapter 7 discharge and its grounds for denial are at § 727, with revocation at § 727(d)-(e); the Chapter 13 discharge is at § 1328. The financial-management course requirement is § 727(a)(11) and § 1328(g). The co-debtor stay is § 1301. The intervals between discharges are at § 727(a)(8)-(9) and § 1328(f) and are not stated here.

When people hire a lawyer for this

A person with a discharge in hand who is still being contacted about a discharged debt has a claim, and a bankruptcy lawyer will usually reopen the case to enforce the order rather than start over. Before filing, the questions a lawyer will put first are the ones that decide whether a discharge is worth having: what survives it (support, most taxes, most student loans), whether a prior discharge blocks a new one, and whether a lien means the house or car must be paid for anyway.

Worried about the cost? A lawyer can be hired for one part of a case only (limited-scope representation), may be paid from what a claim recovers (contingency fee), or may be free through a pro bono program or legal aid; a court can also waive its own filing fees.

Find a lawyer for this in your state

Choose your state to see Bankruptcy law firms in the city where we list the most; your city may be under “other cities”, A to Z. A state marked “Bankruptcy & Debt” has no Bankruptcy listing yet and opens the broader page.

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Related terms

Other entries in the same area of law, each written from the same primary sources.

Automatic StayThe immediate, court-ordered halt to most collection activity that takes effect the moment a bankruptcy case is filed.
Bankruptcy ExemptionsThe property a person filing bankruptcy keeps - the home equity, vehicle, household goods, tools, retirement accounts and other assets the law places beyond the reach of the trustee and creditors - and the state-by-state choice of which exemption list applies.
Bankruptcy Means TestThe income calculation that decides whether a person may file a Chapter 7 case or is steered into a Chapter 13 repayment plan - a comparison of household income against the state median, followed if necessary by a line-by-line deduction of allowed expenses.
Bankruptcy Trustee and the Meeting of CreditorsThe person appointed to administer a bankruptcy case and the short, sworn examination every debtor must attend - what the trustee is looking for, who actually turns up, and what happens after.
Chapter 13 BankruptcyA reorganization bankruptcy for individuals with regular income: debts are repaid in part through a court-approved plan.
Chapter 7 BankruptcyA liquidation bankruptcy: non-exempt property may be sold to pay creditors, and qualifying debts are discharged.
Collecting a JudgmentWinning a case and being paid are two different things - the second is a separate process the winner has to start.
Non-Dischargeable DebtsThe debts a bankruptcy discharge does not erase - child and spousal support, most taxes, most student loans, criminal fines, debts from fraud or drunk-driving injuries - and the difference between those that survive automatically and those a creditor must ask the court to preserve.
Preferences and Fraudulent Transfers (Clawback)The trustee's power to undo payments and transfers made before a bankruptcy was filed - a repayment to a relative, a property signed over to a family member, a creditor paid ahead of the others - and why "I paid my brother back first" is a problem rather than a virtue.
Reaffirmation AgreementA voluntary agreement in a Chapter 7 case to remain personally liable on a debt - usually a car loan - that the discharge would otherwise wipe out, in exchange for keeping the property; what it costs, the court's role, and the alternatives of redemption and simply continuing to pay.
Small Business Bankruptcy (Chapter 11 and Subchapter V)The reorganization chapter for a business that wants to keep operating while it restructures its debts, and the streamlined subchapter Congress added for small businesses - who qualifies, how a plan is confirmed, and what happens to the owner's personal guarantees.

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Part of the LawyerLand plain-English legal glossary. Definitions are written from primary sources - statutes and court rules - and each entry states the authority it rests on, or says plainly when the doctrine is state law with no national rule.

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